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Trump Puts Washington, D.C. Police Under Federal Control; Global Outrage Over IDF Strike Killing Five Journalists; U.S. and China Agree to Extend Tariff Deadline by 90 Days; Trump Downplays Upcoming Meeting with Putin. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 12, 2025 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:40]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: In a crime ridden U.S. capital, there's a new sheriff in town.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, President Trump says crime is out of control in Washington. And he takes control of the Metro Police and deploys the National Guard.

To millions of people online and on television, he was the face of the Gaza war but now his voice has been silenced in a targeted killing by Israel, sparking outrage around the world.

And the U.S. president extends a trade war truce with China, giving both sides another 90 days to agree to a trade deal and avoid punitive tariffs.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: When Donald Trump takes in the view from the White House, he sees a U.S. capital gripped by almost complete and total lawlessness. Slums, young people rampaging through neighborhoods. The reality is Washington's notorious crime rate has been falling in recent years. Not enough for the mayor and city officials, but heading in the right direction nonetheless. But President Trump claims without proof or evidence the crime rate is soaring and he is now taking unprecedented action to restore law and order.

On Monday, he placed the Metropolitan PD under federal control, ordered the deployment of about 800 members of the D.C. National Guard, and according to multiple sources, FBI agents, as many as 130, will be out and about patrolling city streets. All this for a city where the latest data from the D.C. Metro Police show a significant fall in crime. Assault with dangerous weapons, robbery, violent crime all down at least 20 percent compared to last year. And it seems the president sees similar law and order problems in other U.S. cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have other cities also that are bad, very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore. They're so -- they're so far gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Brian Todd reporting in from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's dramatic announcement on Monday that he is federalizing the D.C. Metropolitan Police force and deploying hundreds of National Guard troops on the ground here in Washington, applauded by his allies, met with real concern by Mayor Muriel Bowser and some city leaders, as well as some residents.

The president announcing that some 800 National Guardsmen will be deployed in the city in the coming days. They will not be carrying rifles. Those rifles will be in their vehicles. But they will be there in support, logistical and other support of the law enforcement agencies that will be bolstered by a federal presence on the streets of Washington, including the FBI, the DEA and other agencies that will be out in greater force in the streets of Washington.

Now, the mayor and the D.C. Police chief, according to sources who spoke to CNN, were not aware that the president was going to make that announcement until the announcement was already made on Monday morning. But the mayor, Muriel Bowser, did indicate during a news conference on Monday that the police force of Washington, all of its 3100 officers, are still under the command of Chief Pamela Smith, that they still work under her.

She is still running the police department, but the mayor and the police chief, of course, did express a willingness to work with the federal agencies and the mayor, saying that in some ways it could be a positive thing. Donald Trump, in his news conference on Monday said, quote, "Our capital city has been overrun by violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people."

But Mayor Bowser and police officials point out that violent crime in this city is, in fact, at a 30-year low. The mayor saying that President Trump's view of crime in this city is shaped by his pre- COVID notions of crime in this -- in this area. She specifically said -- she said his COVID era notions of crime in this area. She did acknowledge that there was a spike in crime right after the pandemic. But she says they have worked long and hard since then to bring crime levels, especially violent crime levels, to 30-year lows.

Mayor Bowser still was kind of reserved in her criticism of this, would not come out to slam President Trump directly over this move, but she did say that she is, quote, working -- she will work every day to make sure that this is not a complete disaster.

[00:05:07] That's about the closest she got to a direct jab at the president. What would be a complete disaster in the mayor's view? Well, she said, if we have communities, if we, quote, "lose communities" who now don't want to call the police, that could be a disaster. So the mayor, expressing real concern about how this will play out in the communities, President Trump and his allies very optimistic that the show of force and the arrests, the additional arrests that will be made will reduce crime even further.

This, of course, all stemmed from the violent attack on a former DOGE member, 19-year-old Edward Coristine, who was attacked by a group of young people who surrounded his car a week ago Sunday and beat him up in an attempted carjacking. Since that time, President Trump has promised to do this. He said he would federalize the police force. He even promised to federalize the entire city. But he can't do that unless a new law is passed in the district.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Standing by in Los Angeles this hour is CNN law enforcement contributor and former FBI special agent Steve Moore.

It's good to see you.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so to think this could have actually been you out there, Agent Flatfoot there on the streets, CNN reports this plan as many as 130 FBI agents to patrol increased federal presence, according to a one person familiar with plans. Running license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants. The "Washington Post" goes on to add that they'll be working overnight shifts and they'll be pulled from the bureau's counterintelligence public corruption and other divisions.

So how much training does the FBI agent have in traffic stops and warrants and policing in general? And if the streets are in D.C. are just so dangerous as the president wants to tell everybody, you know, it's a cesspool of crime. Is it a good idea to have those agents out there in the middle of the night?

MOORE: Well, first of all, the agents do get a modicum of car stop, and, you know, other tactical training and SWAT, of course, becomes master of those things. But the -- being trained in it does not mean you have the experience of years on those exact streets. And you know, some FBI agents or former police, but generally, I mean, if you take those policemen out there. They know the streets, they know everything that's going on. They can feel the street, feel the mood of the street.

FBI agents, if you take them, they can take down an international terrorism group, multi-state crime. But patrolling streets is not what they're specialized in and not what they have any -- what most of them have very little expertise in. VAUSE: And what impact will there be from taking 130 agents away from

counterintelligence, investigating public corruption and, you know, the other places?

MOORE: I think, John, that would be, first of all, if they're taking it from that group, I'm astounded because of the people who would have street experience. They're not going to come from counterintelligence. They're not going to come from public corruption. Those are people who deal with very nonviolent crimes or no crime -- no crime at all. Counterintelligence is just trying to figure out what the spies are doing. So I -- it just stuns me.

So what that means is maybe they're taking them from the Washington field office because the Washington field office does most of that. They are -- they are kind of a one trick pony in that kind of thing. Usually, though, in a case like this, John, they would take -- they would do what's called an FBI special and they would say, we need 130 agents in Washington for the next umpty-ump days.

The agents should have this kind of experience, this kind, and you would possibly even bring -- rotate a SWAT team in or something like that, and you would have people from all over the country converging, staying there.

VAUSE: Here's a quick snapshot right now of D.C.'s crime rate. Compared to last year, assault with a dangerous weapon down. Robbery down. Violent crime down. Property crime down a smidge. They're all down by, you know, 20 or -- between 20 percent and 30 percent almost. But the president sees only a crime ridden national capital, and he's going to clean it up. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness. Caravans of mass youth rampaged through city streets at all times of the day. There are ATVs, motorbikes. They travel pretty well. Entire neighborhoods are now under emergency curfews.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, the whole perception versus reality is often an issue with President Trump and with the public in general, really, especially if they or someone they know has been a victim of crime. And a former Trump aide from the first Trump administration back in 2016 was recently assaulted in Washington.

So could that be an explanation for what's happening?

MOORE: Oh, it certainly could.

[00:10:02]

I mean, I was in Washington, what, two weeks ago and watched as, I mean, I was downtown right off Pennsylvania Avenue and watched several hundred motorcyclists, ATV riders, the whole bit. They just took over the street. They were running through every single red light. It was anarchy, basically. So all you have to do is have a few people who are close to the president point out that that's happening several days a week or several days a month, and that will get to him.

The other thing is, I do agree that their stats are going down. It doesn't mean their stats are good. I mean, if they're -- if the information I read recently is correct, there have been 185 murders in 220 days -- 223 days of 2025. It may be lower, but it's still not OK. I'm not trying to take sides on this, but I do want to point out that there are some issues that need to be addressed. Whether or not this is the way to address them, we can have discussions on, but certainly, you know, 185 murders in 223 days in a place that's 10 miles square is an issue.

VAUSE: To say the least.

Steve, thanks so much for being with us. You're absolutely right there on the last point. Thanks for being with us.

MOORE: Thank you. John.

VAUSE: Israel's war in Gaza is already the deadliest on record for journalists, with more dying in Gaza in the past 20 months than all conflict zones around the world in the three years before October 7th, 2023. But it's the death of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif in an Israeli targeted killing, which is sparking international outrage.

Large crowds gathered in Gaza City Monday for his funeral and the funerals of four other journalists killed in that strike. The IDF says Al-Sharif was targeted, accusing him of leading a Hamas terror cell, an allegation Al-Sharif and Al Jazeera has repeatedly denied. The U.N. secretary-general, Amnesty International, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, governments around the world, all calling for an independent investigation. But for many journalists, these incidents are now creating a climate of fear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALEH JAFARAWI, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST IN GAZA (through translator): I'll be honest with you. Their smear campaigns against us does frighten us. We fear for our lives. Our families, our loved ones and our friends. In the end what comforts us is that this is our job and we are doing it right. You only live once. Either you live it how you want to or how they want you to.

You either live it with your head held high as you deliver the voice of your people to the world, regardless if the world is listening or not, or you live it how they want you to, to silence your voice, to defeat you mentally and physically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Nada Bashir has more now on the funerals of the journalists killed and reactions to their deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Monday, mourners gathered in Gaza, carrying the bodies of Palestinian journalists killed in a targeted Israeli strike late Sunday night.

Among them, journalists from the international news network, Al Jazeera, including prominent Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif.

Al-Sharif had become a much-respected household name in the Arabic speaking world and beyond, delivering live news coverage around the clock from across the Gaza Strip, risking his life on a daily basis to continue his work, documenting the daily horrors inflicted on the people of Gaza.

Al-Sharif was in a tent with other journalists marked with a press sign near the entrance of the now destroyed Al-Shifa Hospital when he was killed by an Israeli strike, according to the hospital's director. Al Jazeera also confirmed the deaths of their staffers, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Al Thaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa.

The news outlet issued a statement describing the attack as a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza. The Israeli military had previously accused Al-Sharif of leading a Hamas cell. The military claimed Al-Sharif joined Hamas in 2013 and accused him of leading a Hamas cell that advanced rocket attacks against Israel.

The IDF said they had unequivocal proof of Al-Sharif's link to Hamas, posting an undated photo, apparently showing him with slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and publicizing images of documents that include personnel lists, terrorist training courses, phone directories, and salary payments. CNN cannot independently verify the documents.

Previously, Al-Sharif had vehemently denied the allegation that he was affiliated with Hamas. In a statement shared on social media, the reporter said, "I'm a journalist with no political affiliations. My only mission is to report the truth from the ground as it is without bias."

The U.N. special repertoire on freedom of expression had also previously denounced the, quote, "unfounded accusations" by the Israeli military, describing Israel's claims as a "blatant attempt to endanger his life and silence his reporting on the genocide in Gaza."

[00:15:15]

The U.N. official also cited growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 186 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

In the minutes before he was killed, al-Sharif, who was also a father, separated from his two children for months while reporting, shared this message on social media. "If this madness does not end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins. Its people's voices silenced, their faces erased, and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop."

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Reporters Without Borders or RSF says al-Sharif's killing is just the latest in a series of Israeli strikes deliberately targeting reporters. That would be a war crime, and RSF says it has proof they were killed because of their job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN DAGHER, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: This attack is one of many. We've seen the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years in Gaza. This is an unprecedented number. Among these -- among this very high toll, we know that according to our information and the proof that we've collected and the elements that we have, at least 50 of those journalists were targeted or killed because of their work.

This crime against the press, against journalism will not stop as long as impunity continues, as long as journalists can be killed with zero consequences, then there is no reason for their killers to stop. In fact, there is nothing but advantages for them to continue doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, the U.S. and China kick a major tariffs deadline down the road. We'll tell you the sticking points holding up a final deal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:21:38]

VAUSE: It seems U.S. and China -- the U.S.-China trade war, rather, can wait another few months, with both sides agreeing to a 90-day tariff delay. That decision came just hours before a Tuesday deadline. Washington and Beijing have been negotiating a trade deal for months. That's after President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on Beijing and other major trading partners. So while this temporary trade truce remains in place, there are still a number of sticking points to a final deal reaching agreement.

And to find out what those sticking points are, let's go to Hong Kong. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout with us.

So what is actually causing the problems here? Why can't they reach a deal? They've had enough time.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We keep talking about these sticking points, John. And with every time they secure a trade truce extension that list just gets longer and longer.

Look, this is what we know. This is the very latest as we await fresh comment from Beijing, but the U.S. president, Donald Trump, has extended the trade truce with China for an additional 90 days. This according to a White House executive order and, you know, without this extension, those tariffs would have shot back up to those ultra-high levels on par with the trade blockade between these two great economic powers.

But we do have this trade extension in place. It buys both countries a little bit more time to untangle the issues. It basically keeps these lower tariffs in place until early November just in time for the holiday shopping season, and of course, the export rush from China that precedes it.

Earlier, this is what we heard from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Watch this.

Oh, I'm sorry, we don't have the soundbite for you, but I'm going to show you a full screen pilot instead. This is what we heard from Lin Jian, the MOFA spokesperson, on Monday. He said this, quote, "We hope that the U.S. will work with China in accordance with the important consensus reached during the call between the two presidents to leverage the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism and strive for positive outcomes based on equality, respect and mutual benefit," unquote.

But as you mentioned at the top, John, sticking points remain. In fact, there is a very long list of points of contention that get in the way of a proper deal between the U.S. and China.

Let's bring that up for you. At the top of the list, you have U.S. curbs on high-tech chips, including HBM. This is what I discussed in yesterday's newsroom. High bandwidth memory chips that China and its companies like Huawei desperately want so they can make their own A.I. chips. You have China's export curbs on rare earths, which U.S. desperately wants for its tech and defense industries. China's soybean purchases. Trump says it's not enough.

China's purchase of sanctioned Russian oil, Iranian oil, another sticking point, and of course, fentanyl and the fate of TikTok. We do have a deadline for that coming up on September the 17th. That is a very long list. And analysts say this is why there is still no deal. They need time to untangle this list, and they also say this added time.

This extension also paves the way for a critical meeting to happen between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. In fact, this is what we heard earlier from a former senior U.S. trade official, Wendy Cutler, who says this, quote, "It's positive news combined with some of the de- escalatory steps, both the U.S. and China have taken in recent weeks. It demonstrated that both sides are trying to see if they can reach some kind of a deal that would lay the groundwork for a Xi-Trump meeting this fall."

Now, last week, in fact, when Trump was interviewed on CNBC, he said he was confident that there was going to be a deal between the U.S. and China. He said that if there's a deal, he plans to meet with Xi Jinping before the end of the year -- John.

[00:25:02]

VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us there in Hong Kong.

STOUT: Thank you.

VAUSE: You're welcome.

Still to come on CNN, from the "Art of the Deal" to the art of downplaying. How Donald Trump is managing expectations before his summit this Friday with Vladimir Putin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

[00:30:03]

Donald Trump is deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to fight what he calls out-of-control crime. The U.S. President is placing D.C. Metro Police under federal control.

The unprecedented move comes despite falling crime rates in the capital.

Authorities are investigating the cause of a deadly explosion at a steel plant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two people now confirmed dead. At least ten others injured.

U.S. Steel says the blast involved at least two coke oven batteries. Nearly 1,300 employees work at the Clairton Coke Works each day.

Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe has died two months after he was shot in the head. Uribe had been in hospital since early June since the attack at a campaign rally in the country's capital, Bogota.

President Gustavo Petro offered condolences to the senator's family, which includes the former president.

Well, Donald Trump may not be the dealmaker in chief. He's casting his ability on that right now, saying the upcoming summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin, it's not up to him to make the deal.

The two leaders are set to meet this Friday in Alaska. President Trump says he wants to see what Putin has in mind for Ukraine, and he claims he'll know in the first two minutes if a deal can be made. Here's what he says about the deal and what it could include.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: There'll be some swapping. There'll be some changes in land. And the word that they will use is, you know, they make changes. We're going to change the lines. The battle lines. Russia's occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very

prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This summit is about trying to achieve a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. But the Ukraine part of the war won't be at the summit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns Putin has no plans for peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory, and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine as before.

So far, there is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a postwar situation. On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Clare Sebastian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are pretty extensive comments from U.S. President Donald Trump Monday on the upcoming talks in Alaska. And they really underscore the risks of this summit for Ukraine.

He described it as a feel-out meeting, saying he wasn't going to make a deal.

But Trump also seemed to dismiss suggestions Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be involved in the talks, saying he could, but he wasn't part of this.

And perhaps more alarmingly for Ukraine, President Trump, who has been critical of Russia in recent weeks, reverted to criticizing Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and repeating that he himself gets on very well with Putin.

He said he was, quote, "a little bothered" by the fact Zelenskyy had rejected the idea of swapping territory, because Ukraine's constitution prevents it.

And he even suggested at one point that Zelenskyy was somehow responsible for the war starting, a Kremlin talking point.

TRUMP: I get along with Zelenskyy, but, you know, I disagree with what he's done. Very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened, wouldn't have happened.

SEBASTIAN: Those comments will be welcomed in Moscow, where officials and propagandists have already started to lay the groundwork for Putin to make the case it's Ukraine and Europe, not Russia, standing in the way of peace.

Well, Trump's comments also came amid frenzied diplomatic efforts in Europe. E.U. foreign ministers met virtually on Monday, a signal of solidarity with Ukraine and part of an effort to ensure Kyiv is not sidelined in discussions over its territory.

On Wednesday, the German chancellor will also host another virtual meeting of European leaders, this time also involving President Trump. That likely to be a last-ditch effort to persuade the U.S. to up the pressure on Moscow, rather than dangling concessions.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In a moment, we're learning new details about this rare meteorite nearly two months after it crashed into a home in Georgia. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:39:01]

VAUSE: Another heated moment between China and the Philippines in one of the world's busiest waterways.

On Monday, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel collided with its own warship in the highly contested South China Sea. The vessel was chasing a Philippine Coast Guard ship -- they recorded the video -- at high speed when the incident occurred, according to a commodore with the Philippine Coast Guard.

China has so far only confirmed a confrontation with the Philippine vessel, which it says intruded into waters under the pretext of delivering aid to Filipino fishermen near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

New details now on a mysterious meteorite which was seen streaking across the night skies of the Southeastern U.S. in June.

This was the moment the fireball was spotted over Georgia before crashing through the roof of a home in the city of McDonough, just outside Atlanta.

The McDonough meteorite, as it's been named, is believed to be 4.5 billion years old. That's older than the Earth itself. And researchers say it journeyed here from a main asteroid belt somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.

Well, the show must go on. And who knows better than that, than Taylor Swift, the global superstar had a cryptic countdown on her website for 12:12 a.m. Eastern. In the U.S., that was less than 30 minutes ago.

[00:40:07]

And while the website crashed, the word still got out. The pop phenom is releasing her 12th album -- or TS 12, if you're a Swiftie -- titled "Life of a Showgirl."

The pre-preorder of the album is now available. Pre-preorder. No word yet on the release date. Get your pre-pre-preorder soon.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back with more news, a lot more news, at the top of the hour. In the meantime, stay with us. WORLD SPORT is next.

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(WORLD SPORT)